Computational Media
-
The Winter Olympics feel like a 90s snowboarding game, and I’m here for it
The Guardian’s games reporter Keith Stuart recommends UC Santa Cruz professor Noah Wardrip-Fruin’s book “Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Can a Game Take Care of Us?” to his readers.
-
Chewing gum has a mysterious effect on the brain
In research on fidgeting, UC Santa Cruz Professor of Computational Media Katherine Isbister has found that people engage in fidgeting when they’re trying to pay attention to a task that’s taking a long time, or in a long meeting (even if at the annoyance of those around them).
-
New video game to help people prepare for wildfires
NBC Bay Area features games for community wildfire resilience created by Ph.D. student MJ Johns and Professor of Computational Media Katherine Isbister.
-
UCSC Study looks into Tiktok Cooking
KION456 covers research from Assistant Professor of Computational Media Christina Chung and her Ph.D. student Ariel Wang on how teens’ use of TikTok affects their offline eating habits.
-
30 Under 30 – Healthcare (2025): Immergo Labs
Adjunct Professor of Computational Media Aviv Elor and Electrical and Computer Engineering Ph.D. student Ash Robbins, who co-founded the telehealth physical therapy company Immergo Labs, were recognized in the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list in the Healthcare category.
-
The Origin Story of Astro Bot’s Likable Little Guy
Professor of Computational Media Katherine Isbister spoke to the New York Times about what makes a cute video game character.
-
How games move us
Professor of Computational Media Katherine Isbister penned an op-ed in Popular Science and MIT Press on how games provoke deep emotions via choice and consequence.
-
The expanding universe of Lofi Girl
WBUR News, Boston's NPR station, spoke with UCSC Ph.D. student of Computational Media Kevin Weatherwax about his research on and personal relationship with Lo-Fi music.
-
Study explores how visual effects in videogames help players to make sense of game worlds
Tech Xplore featured Computational Media Ph.D. student Hongwei Zhou and former UCSC professor Angus Forbes's study on how visual effects help video game players understand virtual worlds.
-
A marriage of virtual reality and physical therapy: Immergo Labs emerges from its UCSC roots
Lookout Santa Cruz featured Immergo Labs, a virtual reality telehealth platform created by alums of UC Santa Cruz's Baskin School of Engineering.
-
UCSC’s groundbreaking computer game program, top 5 nationally, charts ‘astonishing’ path
Lookout Santa Cruz featured UCSC undergraduate computer design program after it was ranked among the top five programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report.
-
Procedural storytelling is exploding the possibilities of video game narratives
Computational media researcher Max Kreminski was quoted in a Verge article about procedural storytelling in video games.